Buddhist painting may have begun in the lifetime of the Buddha. While some scholars maintain the view that it took shape a couple of centuries later, there are some textual materials which suggest that the painting of Buddhist themes began during the Buddha’s lifetime.

Two kings of Magadha, Bimbisara and Udrayana, were very close friends and they used to exchange gifts. Once king, Udrayana sent a very costly present to his friend. In response, King Bimbisara decided to send a painting of Buddha. But when artists began to look at the Buddha, they were so overwhelmed by the splendor and light emitting from His body that they could not draw his image. Seeing this, the Buddha cast his shadow on a sheet and directed the artists to paint it. This is said to have been the first painted representation of the Buddha.

Another account of Buddhist painting, this time concerning this time concerning the wheel of life, is given in the Divyavadana. According to this source, the original model for the wheel of life was painted over the gateway of the Veluvana (Venuvana) Vihar at Rajagriha on the instructions of the Buddha himself, who indicated exactly how the work should be done. The Buddha, so the text relates, was inspired by the activities of one of his chief disciples, Maudgalyayana. Thanks to his mastery of psychic powers, Maudgalyayana was able to visit all beings in the different realms of existence, and to see them in different states. The Buddha realized that there were not enough people like Maudgalyayana to teach all those who needed to hear his teaching. He therefore instructed his disciples to paint the Wheel of Life, a depiction of the different realms of existence, and their underlying processes, at the entrance to every monastery. The picture is not strictly a literal account of worldly existence, but is effective in that it appeals to our imagination with its rich and powerful imagery.

It appears that the Buddha himself considered painting to be an important subject as he mentioned methods of painting in sutras such as the Pratimalaksanama. This is apparently a very late Buddhist text – perhaps after 10th century. The physical measurements of the Buddha and the places where paintings of him should be made are mentioned in the Vinaya. Tantric texts like Manjushrimulakalpa, Samvarodaya etc. explain methods of making images of deities and spirits at length.

In Buddhist practices, the art of painting is regarded as one of the important constituents of the five great subjects of learning (Skt. Panchavidya). According to Acarya Asanaga (ca 350 AD), every practitioner of the Bodhisattva path should learn five subjects: Philosophy, Art, Grammar, Logic and Medicine. Furthermore, the discipline of Art has many branches, namely painting, sculpture, carving, engraving and so forth. Painting is said by Nagnajit to be the best of these arts:

Just as Sumeru is foremost among the mountains,
Just as the Ganga is foremost the rivers,
Just as the Sun is foremost among the celestial bodies,
Just as the Garuda is the king of birds,
Just as Indra is the foremost among gods,
So is painting the foremost amoung the skills.

Newar Buddhists follow the Bodhisattva path, and their skills in the artistic sphere have been well known in India, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, Japan, Korea and China for the past millennium. Buddhists monks in Nepal eventually became householders and today it is their descendants who engage in sacred art as a profession.

Buddhists in Nepal produced innumerable Buddhist sculptures of high quality in stone, bronze and wood throughout the Licchavi period (400- 880 AD) and the transitional period (880- 1200 AD). Newar Buddhists were also the first artists to produce Pauba or Thangka paintings and to transmit this artistic tradition to other countries – especially Tibet.

Reference:

Sacred Art of Nepal, Min Bahadur Shakya, Handicraft Association of Nepal